Repairing cracked and rusty shock towers

webshot · Feb 20, 2006

I recently bought a 86 stang for a really low price, but I am starting to understand why. There is a good amount rust in the engine compartment. And the shock towers have a good amount of rust and actually have cracks. Plus it looks like someone tried to repair/strengthen them by riveting a piece of metal to it. But never the less a few folks told me it can be repaired. Just wanted to know you guys take on doing these types of repairs, like is it worth it? Is there a reinforcement kit I could buy for rhis? Any round about estimates of the cost to do this? And as always advice and insight is valued and appreciated.

I'll post some pics when I get home in about a hour. Just wanted to throw this out there.

aete2 · Feb 20, 2006

Ya it would help to see pics for the best course of action.

Michael Yount · Feb 20, 2006

I'd get the car up on a lift and take a good close look at things. If you've got rust that far up in the engine compartment, odds are you've got even worse rust further down. Before I invested in repairing the strut towers, I'd want to check the structural integrity of the rest of the car. It's rare for 'cancer' to be isolated to just one part of the car -- so if it's that bad up on the towers, I'd bet you're not gonna be happy with what you find underneath the car.

Do you have any info on the history of the car? Where (geographically) it spent time?

webshot · Feb 20, 2006

yea carfax said it was a cali car, but the dude ski's so my guess is that it was up in the snow at some point. Looks like road salt up on the intake....Its not so much as cancer because most of it seems to be surface rust that brushes off. PICS comin up

webshot · Feb 20, 2006

Here is the pics. It is the drivers side shock tower.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesh...de=fromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

aete2 · Feb 20, 2006

Thats no big deal at all,from what i can see in the pics a little sand blasting and re apply proper primers and top coat and your good to go. Its not rusted through is it?

89white50 · Feb 20, 2006

LOL....come up to New England...i'll show you rust. sand and paint, that looks like nothing.

webshot · Feb 20, 2006

do you guys see the cracks? Yea I figured the rust was not that bad...Most of it comes off witht a wire brush. But the cracks and how someone already tried a repair is what I was talking about.

Michael Yount · Feb 20, 2006

webshot - get it up on a lift and take a real close look at things -- I'd bet you've either got bigger rust issues, or the car's been in an accident and not repaired properly.

87'GTstang · Feb 20, 2006

Yeah it's really strange to just have a shock tower with damage to it from nowhere. Best guess i'de have is that a little front-wheel hit happened somewhere down the road . If that kind of damage is towards the upper portion of the engine bay, like Mr. Yount said, just imagine what lies more towards the road-facing surface underneath.

webshot · Feb 20, 2006

Thanks guys....I checked under the car (not on a lift but jacks) and it is not nearly as rusted as the engine compartment. What I think happened is the car might have been stored with the hood off or open. But I will look into the collision thing.

My main question is could that damage be repaired? How? And any round about estimates of how much and how much work involved? I want to start looking for someone to do the work, but I would like to know some beginning figures to get an idea if I am being taken for a ride.

Thanks

webshot · Feb 21, 2006

BlownFiveLiter · Feb 21, 2006

Your best bet might be to let a body shop that does free estimates take a look at it. They may be able to just grind the rust back and weld it, but with the cracks, my suspicion is that there's more going on than meets the eye. See if you can have it put on a rack and check the frame to see if it's straight, too. I'd be very weary of this one, since that's not typically an area that would just crack without some substantial force. Hitting some potholes shouldn't do it.

aete2 · Feb 21, 2006

again from what i can see id say it was a poor repair job the last time, but i would say take it in and have it looked at you never know what someone else has tried to hide

webshot · Feb 21, 2006

Thanks guys. I think I will go get some free estimates. Does it cost to have your car put a frame straightener/tester?

BlownFiveLiter · Feb 21, 2006

I'm not sure if they'd charge for that or not. You could always take some measurements on another car and compare them to yours for free, if they want to charge some ridiculous amount for an estimate. Shop around, someone has got to be willing to do it for free in the hopes that they'll get your business if it needs straightening.

webshot · Feb 21, 2006

hrsepwr
Really really good advice and it is much appreciated. I am going to look into this further. Good thing is the car is not salvaged so if I make these repairs, I am still starting with a good base, depending on if this is a cost effective fix.

Thanks all, any more adive is appreicated too.

Zero_chance · Feb 21, 2006

Your best bet at figuring if it would be cost effective would be to find the smae year car with comparable options and a good body and take that price (lets say 2500 for the hell of it) from what you paid for your car (say 1000) and that leaves you 1500 dollars to put into getting it up to par body wise. So if it costs less than 1500 (or whatever your math works out to) then its not that bad. If it turns out to be more then its prob not that good of an idea.

webshot · Feb 21, 2006

good idea. I paid 400 bucks for the car. So I got a wide cushion as far as that goes.

aete2 · Feb 21, 2006

hrspwrjunkie said:
It might be repairable, but it is important to remember a couple of things about that component and modern sheetmetal before making a decision.

First, the sheetmetal in modern cars has a higher carbon content than the sheetmetal in old muscle cars. This is what allows it to be both thinner and stronger. This also means that it tears and breaks easier as well as burns through very easily. It requires a different welding method to repair long lines such as cracks than the older metal. An oxyacetalene torch is too hot, you will need a low-temp MIG or TIG and use a stitch welding method to make an effective repair. I'm also not sure if that component on a Mustang is HCC (High Carbon Content) and cannot be welded at all. A number of modern cars major chassis components are HCC and must be completely replaced because any heat at all will weaken the metal and make the vehicle both flexible and dangerous in a collision.

Second, that's a structural component and it shouldn't be weak at all. I would have a frame shop take a look at the damage to see what kind of repair may be needed to fix more than just the cracks, but maintain the integrity of the chassis. If that component is HCC extensive rust will ruin the sheetmetal beyond repair. HCC steel rusts very easily and covering it up won't give that piece the kind of strength it requires to maintain the structural integrity of both the suspension and the body of the car.

Also, talk to your Ford dealership and find out what types of metals are used in the different sheet metal components so that you can make an educated decision about what direction you should take to repair your problem.

Ryan

It is not a problem to weld Mustangs, i have done it many times they do not have any weird metals in them, again like i said before no need to panic over this, i think its not a big deal it could have been in a collision and not repaired right or many other things there is no need to go 50 places to find out metal content and so forth, but as you have already said going to a body shop to have it checked is the right thing to do in this case for peice of mind.

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